Long and irritating queues of up to two hours will soon be a thing of the past for Australians going through American airports, with the Federal Government confirming it is in talks with US authorities to introduce the Global Entry Program.
Travelers with GEP approval just breeze through US customs avoiding long and tedious queues.
Passengers use kiosks like the Automated Passport Control but the process is much faster with almost no queues.
The Department of Home Affairs confirmed the talks telling AirlineRatings.com that it “appreciates the interest Australian travelers have in the GEP and is examining the feasibility of Australia joining”.
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“The department is actively engaged with the United States Customs and Border Protection agency to develop a mutual understanding of how membership of the GEP will work for Australian travelers,” the department said.
However, an government insider told AirlineRatings GEP "is going ahead."
Global Entry allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers arriving in the US.
At airports, program members use global entry kiosks, present their machine-readable passport, place their fingerprints on the scanner for fingerprint verification and complete a customs declaration.
The kiosk issues the traveler a transaction receipt and directs the traveler to baggage claim and the exit.
Travelers must be pre-approved for the Global Entry program and all applicants undergo a rigorous background check and in-person interview before enrolment.
Once approved, Australians can then get TSA PreCheck for expedited security screening for domestic flights.
Part of the thrust to include Australia in the program comes from US senators who have lobbied for an agreement between the US and Australia for a pilot program involving allowing Australian citizens to apply for expedited customs clearance at Hono-lulu’s Daniel K. Inouye international airport.
Senator Mazie Hirono said, “expanding global entry and other trusted traveler programs helps grow Hawaii’s international visitor industry while facilitating secure travel to our country”.
“Last year, Australian visitors spent more than $872 million and supported over 10,000 jobs in Hawaii and we can only expect Australian visitor arrivals and spending to grow with expedited screening provided by the global entry program,” she said.
The Hawaii Tourism JUAuthority said more than 324,000 Australian citizens visited Hawaii last year, making Australia Hawaii’s third-biggest international visitor market after Japan (1.5 million visitors) and Canada (518,000 visitors).
In addition said Senator Hirono said the US Commerce Department estimated about 1.3 million Australians visited the US last year and spent $US8.6 billion, placing Australia in the top 10 markets for US travel and tourism exports.
In August 2018, Senator Hirono led a bipartisan coalition of 26 senators to urge Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen to approve Australia’s inclusion in the Global Entry program.
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